Tired of Windows? The next generation of laptops may let you jump from one operating system to another to play movies, surf the Web or read e-mail. Phoenix Technologies Ltd., a leading maker of the software that controls Windows computers most basic workings, announced this week that it will offer a feature it calls HyperSpace to laptop manufacturers.

Woody Hobbs, the Milpitas, Calif.-based company’s chief executive, said the first application of the technology probably will show up next summer in the shape of laptops that can play DVDs outside Windows.

User will be able to boot in a few seconds straight into the DVD player, skipping the longer Windows startup, or switch to the DVD player from Windows. If Windows is running at the same time, it can be put in sleep mode, prolonging battery life.

Laptops with a media player separate from Windows already exist, but the players don’t run parallel to Windows (you have to boot into the player, then shut it down and boot into Windows to switch tasks).

Laptops with HyperSpace would likely have a separate button that instantly switches away from Windows.

In a second phase, Hobbs sees things like Web browsers, e-mail programs and Web conferencing software like Skype being built into HyperSpace. Computer management functions like antivirus scanning could also be performed outside Windows, improving security, Hobbs said.

The technology would move PCs closer to being appliances - always on and available - and give computer manufacturers a chance to differentiate themselves in what is in many respects a commodity business, by pre-loading different applications.

The HyperSpace environment would be based on Linux, giving the freely distributed operating system what could be its biggest break yet in the struggle to gain traction against Windows on PCs.

Now Microsoft unveils new web application HealthVault, a medical records manager that will let users—and their doctors—store and track personal health information online. As for privacy? The personal information, Microsoft said, will be stored in a secure, encrypted database. Its privacy controls, the company said, are set entirely by the individual, including what information goes in and who gets to see it. The HealthVault searches are conducted anonymously, Microsoft said, and will not be linked to any personal information in a HealthVault personal health record.

Microsoft’s secured a few major partners in the health industry (with more to come, they hope) who will be able to zap your blood pressure or cholesterol level right into HealthVault during your checkup. You willing to entrust the big MS with your medical records? Let me know in the comments.

A couple of days ago Microsoft labs released a demo of their new Photosynth software on the web. Photosynth allows the aggregation of social picture networks (a la Flickr) into a completed image in addition to allowing a level of depth to image browsing previously unavailable. There is also a very impressive video of the demo available.

“The Photosynth Technology Preview is a taste of the newest - and, we hope, most exciting - way to view photos on a computer. Our software takes a large collection of photos of a place or an object, analyzes them for similarities, and then displays the photos in a reconstructed three-dimensional space, showing you how each one relates to the next.

In our collections, you can access gigabytes of photos in seconds, view a scene from nearly any angle, find similar photos with a single click, and zoom in to make the smallest detail as big as your monitor.” Microsoft.

Well I’ve finally decided to buy a laptop so I am parting with my beloved desktop.

Amd 2.2ghz,
1.25gb RAM,
80gb & 40gb Hard Drive,
512mb 6800 XT nVidia graphics card,
16x DVD-RW/RAM dual layer drive,
Antec Server/gaming Case with window, dust filters, and easy fit drive bays worth £90,
Hiper PSU,
17″ CRT monitor.

£350

Click here to view the computer on eBay.

I appreciate that using your blog to sell your pc is an all new low - but it’s worth a shot! Hopefully someone puts this on digg! Anyway, buy it.. you know you want to!

Microsoft has launched a site dedicated to collaboration between Microsoft and open source community. The site helps developers, IT administrators, and IT buyers find out what Microsoft’s product offerings are, and read articles about open source such as “Open Source Provider Sees Sales Doubling After Moving Solutions to the Windows Platform.”

Relatedly, CNet has the news that the company has submitted its shared-sources license to the OSI for approval.

At the moment I consider this a front.. however it is still shocking to see the words “open source” on a microsoft website! *takes a screen shot*